THE BJP authorities’s determination to confer Padma Bhushan on veteran Congress chief Ghulam Nabi Azad has as soon as once more dropped at the fore the divide within the grand previous social gathering. While the social gathering formally didn’t remark, most of the Group of 23 leaders, who had earlier sought modifications within the social gathering, got here out congratulating Azad.
Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh’s swipe at Azad, a former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, has angered the group of leaders who had written to social gathering president Sonia Gandhi demanding sweeping modifications within the social gathering construction.
In reality, senior Congress chief and former Union minister Ashwani Kumar hit out at Ramesh, who whereas praising CPI(M) veteran Buddhadeb Bhattacharya’s rejection of the Padma Bhushan, tweeted on Tuesday: “Right factor to do. He desires to be Azad not Ghulam.”
“Congress Rajya Sabha Whip’s criticism of Ghulam Nabi Azad for receiving the Padma award is nothing less than a shameful innuendo intended to rob both the award and its recipient of the deserved dignity. Such a mindset does not do justice to the dignitarian ethos of the Congress,” Kumar said. He said the award is a “national honor irrespective of which party gives to which leader”. Kumar shouldn’t be a signatory to the letter which was written to Sonia Gandhi in 2020.
Party’s loud silence
THE CONGRESS’S silence on the glory given to Ghulam Nabi Azad and likewise on Jairam Ramesh’s dig at him solely reveal the extent of divisions and distrust among the many social gathering’s high brass. While tensions simmer, each the edges are keenly watching the upcoming Assembly elections within the 5 states, the place the social gathering has large stakes. A poor efficiency would exacerbate the inner tussle and deepen the disaster forward of the social gathering’s organizational elections to choose a brand new president later this 12 months.
Senior chief and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal took potshots on the social gathering. “Ghulam Nabi Azad Conferred on Padma Bhushan. Congratulations bhaijan. Ironic that the Congress doesn’t need his services when the nation recognizes his contributions to public life,” he tweeted. He didn’t want to elaborate.
The Congress’s silence and Ramesh’s swipe has not gone down effectively with the G 23 leaders. “Jairam’s tweet was very distasteful. He simply desires to be within the information by abusing a colleague… It shouldn’t be a BJP or RSS honour. The Congress ought to have proven grace and welcomed it and congratulated Azad. We have misplaced all of the grace now,” a senior chief stated.
It was not simply Congress leaders who disapproved of Ramesh’s tweet. Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted: “Calling someone Azad for declining a national honor and Ghulam for accepting it… shows how shallow one’s thought is towards a national honour. This isn’t the first nor the last time that opposition leaders will be acknowledged for their work, please maintain that spirit and dignity.”
The different signatories of the letter congratulated Azad on Twitter. Manish Tewari and Anand Sharma stated it was a “well deserved recognition”.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
